Temporary parking, a long-tern hassle

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When a student stops by campus to pay a bill, rent a book or quickly print a paper within a 20-minute time period, parking spaces are limited. Because of this, many students park illegally or have to park in a lot that is far away from their destination, and when they are on a time crunch, frustration often arises.

“It’s awful,” said Tyler Eubank, a junior human resource management major. “I circled around for 30 minutes one time because it was raining trying to find a spot close to the library in the temporary spots.”

Currently, there are only a few marked 20-minute parking spots on campus, which are located in Lot N by Lucas Administrative Center and by some garages, according to Parking Services.
There are also loading and unloading docks and the circles by the Fine Arts building, the Student Union and in front of Norse Commons, which can be used as temporary parking. But, with the exception of the circle in front of Norse Commons, which is marked by a sign, these spots should not have cars left unattended for any period of time.

Andy Meeks, director of Business Operations and Auxiliary Services, said no one should be parking in front of the library because it is a fire lane and therefore against the law. Meeks said he suggested parking behind the library or in other temporary spots when students need to get in and out of the university quickly.
For Mary-Kate Gnotek, a junior English major, parking is only a real problem when she’s in a hurry.

“I know there are some, but they are all usually full when I just need to run into the financial aid office or to the library to print a paper,” she said.

The lack of temporary parking spaces is understood by the university, according to Meeks, but it is a conscious decision not to encourage temporary parking for two reasons: There is not enough area to provide a sufficient amount of spaces, and most people overstay the 20-minute limit.

The university is also particular about temporary parking, because in most cases it will slow other people down and could cause traffic jams, according to Meeks.
Senior theater sound design major Kevin Semancik said he understands that there currently is not space to add more parking, temporary or not. “There’s not nearly enough, but there’s really no place to add more,” he said.

For some students, like junior communication major Veronica Ruschman, temporary parking is not a huge problem, because there are not many times when temporary spots are needed.
“I don’t ever really need 15- to 20-minute spots, because I’m usually on campus for extended periods of time to begin with,” she said.
To address this problem without adding more temporary parking spaces, Eubank offered some solutions for the university to consider.

“I don’t always need the spots during the day, but when I’m on my way home from work and need to print out some notes, I hate that I have to park far away when there are close spots, but I’m not allowed in them … if I could park anywhere after a certain time, that would be great,” he said.